BOSTON — On the eve of the Boston Celtics’ playoff opener, Jaylen Brown said he expects to have no minutes restriction during his team’s first-round series with the Orlando Magic.
Beyond that, Brown didn’t say much about his injured right knee, which forced him to miss eight of Boston’s final 16 regular-season games and has limited his minutes since mid-March.
“I’m not here to talk about my knee, guys,” Brown said Saturday. “It is what it is. I’m focused on Orlando.”
They were Brown’s first public comments since he played just 22 minutes in a late-season win against the Knicks. After sitting out the fourth quarter and overtime of that contest, he also missed Boston’s final three games of the regular season. On Sunday, Joe Mazzulla confirmed that Brown received injections on his injured knee during his absence.
Brown did not address the injections Saturday, but said he believed he benefited from the late-season plan for his body. Late in the regular season, he was open about feeling less than his best physically and wanting to learn how to adjust to continue playing at a high level.
“I think it was great,” Brown said of the approach. “I appreciate Joe (Mazzulla) and the training staff. We had a good game plan that we were kind of, like, filling it out. I know my body pretty well. But the decisions that were made I felt what was best. I think I’m going to use some of that stuff in my back pocket as we go forward. That was a good test for me.”
Teammates have said Brown looked good at practice this week. Mazzulla said Brown was able to participate fully in practices throughout the week as the Celtics prepared for their series against Orlando. Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
“He looks good,” said Mazzulla. “He was able to do everything, no limitations. He’s been great, physically, mentally, really preparing himself, ready to go. So, love the week that he had.”
Brown hasn’t played more than 30 minutes in a game since March 12. The reigning Finals MVP averaged 37.2 minutes per game in the playoffs last season on the Celtics’ run to the championship.
(Photo: Winslow Townson / Imagn Images)
